Leo Kruger, the American Wolves and Latest WWE NXT Developmental News

Leo Kruger, the American Wolves and Latest WWE NXT Developmental News

Change is afoot at WWE NXT, as Leo Kruger is trying out a new name and gimmick, while The American Wolves—Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards—took a step in changing the developmental landscape.

Kruger shed his predatory persona, at least for one night. WWE gave Edwards and Richards new names and put them in the ring against the NXT Tag Team champions.

Change is also coming to Full Sail University in the form of a newly signed independent wrestler. On the other side of the world, an Indian taller than The Great Khali has made it clear that WWE is in his sights.

Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards Debut

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They may have changed species, but "The American Wolves" debuted on NXT TV.

Rumors and backstage reports swirled around former Ring of Honor champs Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards and their potential involvement with WWE. With new monikers, the duo entered the Full Sail University Nov. 21.

Per PWMania.com, "Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards worked a match at Thursday's WWE NXT TV tapings under the name 'The American Pitbulls' The episode will air on December 18th."

Richards will be known as John Cahill and Edwards is now Eric Philbin, per WrestleZone.com.

The team is not yet signed with WWE but rather is working for the company on a short-term basis for now. Keeping Richards and Edwards as a team is an excellent idea, unlike dubbing the latter Eric Philbin.

Names like Kassius Ohno grow on you, but Eric Philbin sounds like one of the local talents that Ryback stomped on during his undefeated streak.

Diva Injured

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The NXT Divas division will be one wrestler short for the moment.

WrestleZone.com reports that Charlotte is "reportedly out of action after undergoing what is being reported as a 'minor surgery.' No other details on the surgery or her return time table are known at this time."

Charlotte has recently picked up momentum, joining Sasha Banks and Summer Rae as a member of the BFFs. Should the surgery keep her out for any significant amount of time, she can maintain that by appearing at those Divas' sides in a non-wrestling capacity.

Otherwise, she can get back to gaining the steady in-ring progress she was making before the procedure.

Leo Kruger Potentially Repackaged

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Leo Kruger appears to have undergone a gimmick makeover.

As reported by WrestlingInc.com, Kruger worked an NXT live event as Adam Rose, dressed in oversized sunglasses and a colorful scarf. After playing a sadistic South African hunter, he looks to be switching to a more flamboyant, showy persona.

Kruger's previous gimmick fit him extremely well, and his fans are probably hoping that this Adam Rose thing is a brief experiment.

Making Kruger look more like Aiden English doesn't seem like a good match of gimmick and wrestler. Due to NXT taping in blocks, it will be a long while before we see if Kruger does become Rose on a full-time basis.

The New Khali?

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A giant from India is seeking a shot with WWE. Rajesh Kumar, who goes by "New Khali," is headed to Japan to learn the craft of pro wrestling.

He told IndianExpress.com, "Once my training in Japan is complete, I will hopefully be selected by WWE to enter their international championships."

Kumar looks a lot like The Great Khali, both in terms of size and lack of mobility.

He has done a good job of creating buzz for himself by taking the Khali name and making his WWE aspirations public. If WWE wants a circus-like attraction to either pair with or pit against Khali, it needs only to look to the native of Haryana, India.